Ambassador: 55% of displaced Iraqis have not been repatriated

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s ambassador to Cairo has said that 55% of displaced Iraqis have not returned to their home regions at areas recaptured from the Islamic State.

Habib al-Sadr told Russian agency Sputnik that “55% of refugees have not returned home”, adding that “the cost of reconstruction is sizable, and we reiterate the necessity of the international community’s support”.

According to al-Sadr, “45% of displaced families in Nineveh, Anbar, Salahuddin and the rest of the liberated cities have returned to their homes”.

Suleiman al-Jumaili, Iraq’s planning minister, said Sunday that Iraq has suffered destruction from the war against IS that is worth USD47 million.

Kuwait is hosting an international conference for Iraq’s reconstruction in February, gathering world donors eager to contribute to rehabilitate the country.

Iraq’s war against Islamic State militants, who occupied large parts of the country in 2014 to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate”, has displaced nearly five million people, according to United Nations figures. Those were both displaced internally or forced to flee to refugee camps abroad.

Refugees have reportedly endured difficult living conditions inside camps due to food and medicine shortages, as well as bad weather conditions.

Iraq declared final victory over the militant group earlier this month, currently working to clear remnant cells at liberated areas.